Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Rating Reiterated by Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $220.00 price target on the iPhone maker’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AAPL. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on Apple from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on Apple from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Melius Research upped their target price on Apple from $227.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Apple from $200.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Barclays restated an underweight rating and issued a $164.00 price target on shares of Apple in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, twenty-four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $215.71.

Apple Price Performance

Shares of AAPL stock opened at $221.55 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.85. The company has a market cap of $3.40 trillion, a P/E ratio of 34.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Apple has a twelve month low of $164.07 and a twelve month high of $221.55.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The iPhone maker reported $1.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.51 by $0.02. Apple had a net margin of 26.31% and a return on equity of 148.33%. The firm had revenue of $90.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Apple will post 6.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Apple declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $110.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the iPhone maker to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Apple Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 13th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from Apple’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 10th. Apple’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Chris Kondo sold 4,999 shares of Apple stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.40, for a total value of $951,809.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,278 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,531.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Arthur D. Levinson sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $191.58, for a total value of $14,368,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,359,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $835,207,570.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 192,355 shares of company stock valued at $34,771,329 over the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wyrmwood Management LLC grew its stake in Apple by 69.0% in the 4th quarter. Wyrmwood Management LLC now owns 169 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new stake in Apple during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC lifted its stake in Apple by 118.0% during the fourth quarter. Gilfoyle & Co LLC now owns 218 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. bought a new stake in Apple during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Apple by 657.1% in the 4th quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. now owns 424 shares of the iPhone maker’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. 60.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Apple Company Profile

Apple Inc designs, manufactures, and markets smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables, and accessories worldwide. The company offers iPhone, a line of smartphones; Mac, a line of personal computers; iPad, a line of multi-purpose tablets; and wearables, home, and accessories comprising AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Beats products, and HomePod.